Pennsylvania Statute of Limitations Guide

The statute of limitations is a hard deadline. Miss it and your case is gone forever, no matter how strong it is. Pennsylvania sets a different clock for each type of claim, and the chart below shows where each one falls.

Knowing the number is the easy part. The harder question is when your clock started and what can stop it.

Personal Injury and Property Damage

Personal Injury: 2 years from the date of injury (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). If you are hit by a car in April 2024, you have until April 2026 to file suit. Miss that deadline and you are barred from recovery forever.

Medical Malpractice: 2 years from the date of injury, OR 2 years from the date you discovered the injury (the discovery rule). Medical malpractice is tricky because you might not realize a doctor's mistake immediately. The statute does not start running until you knew or should have known of the injury. If a surgeon leaves a sponge inside you and you do not discover it for three years, the two-year clock might not start until discovery. Pennsylvania once had a 7-year statute of repose for medical malpractice under the MCARE Act, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional in Yanakos v. UPMC, 218 A.3d 1214 (Pa. 2019); there is no longer an absolute outer limit barring a late-discovered claim. Talk to an attorney quickly if you suspect medical malpractice.

Wrongful Death: 2 years from the date of death (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2)). The clock runs from death, not from when you discovered the wrongdoing that caused it.

Property Damage: 2 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). If your home floods due to a neighbor's negligence in February 2024, you have until February 2026 to sue.

Contract Disputes

Breach of Written Contract: 4 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5525). You have four years from the date of breach to file suit. If a contractor fails to complete work promised under a written agreement in January 2024, you have until January 2028 to sue.

Breach of Oral Contract: 4 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5525). Same as written contracts. The statute of limitations does not care that the contract was spoken rather than written.

Promissory Note: 4 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5525(a)(7)). An action on a note or similar written instrument is generally subject to the four-year limit.

Instrument Under Seal: 20 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5529(b)). A written instrument executed under seal carries a 20-year limit. This is less common but matters for certain formal debt documents.

Fraud and Misrepresentation

Fraud: 2 years from discovery (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(7)). The clock starts when you discovered the fraud or should have discovered it using reasonable diligence. If a contractor misrepresents the quality of work and you do not discover the defect for two years, the statute might not have started running yet. Pennsylvania has no fixed statute of repose for fraud, but a defendant can still argue that you should have discovered the fraud sooner through reasonable diligence, which cuts off the discovery rule.

Defamation and Libel

Defamation (slander or libel): 1 year (42 Pa.C.S. § 5523). This is short. If someone publicly lies about you in January 2024, you have until January 2025 to file suit. This is one of the shortest statutes in Pennsylvania, so do not delay if your reputation is damaged.

Trespass

Trespass to Real Property (land): 2 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). If someone enters your property without permission or oversteps a boundary, you have two years to sue for trespass or damages.

Trespass to Personal Property: 2 years. Same rule for interference with your belongings or chattels.

Product Liability

Product Liability (personal injury): 2 years from injury or discovery of injury. If a defective product causes you harm and you do not immediately realize the product caused it, the statute runs from discovery. Pennsylvania does not have a general statute of repose for product liability claims, so there is no fixed outer cutoff measured from the date the product was first sold; the two-year limitations period and the discovery rule control.

UCC and Sale of Goods

Breach of Warranty or UCC Claim: 4 years from the date of breach (13 Pa.C.S. § 2725). If you buy goods that breach the seller's warranty, you have four years to claim the breach.

Consumer Protection

Unfair Trade Practices Act (UTPCPL): 6 years from the date of the unfair practice. The UTPCPL (73 P.S. § 201-9.2) authorizes a private cause of action but sets no limitations period of its own; courts apply Pennsylvania's residual six-year statute of limitations (42 Pa.C.S. § 5527(b)). If a business engages in fraud or unfair practices in selling you goods or services, you generally have six years to file a claim under the UTPCPL.

Construction Defects

Statute of Repose for Construction Defects: 12 years from completion of construction (42 Pa.C.S. § 5536). This is generally an absolute outer limit, and it applies to personal injury and property damage claims arising from construction defects. There is one important tail: under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5536(b)(1), if the injury or wrongful death occurs more than 10 but within 12 years after completion, suit may be commenced within the otherwise applicable limitations period, but not later than 14 years after completion of construction. So an injury surfacing late in the 12-year window can still be timely if filed within that 14-year cap. The repose period encourages property owners to inspect and identify problems within the 12-year window; consult an attorney about whether the late-injury tail applies to your facts.

The Discovery Rule

The discovery rule delays the start of the statute of limitations until you discover (or should have discovered) the injury or damage. It applies most commonly to medical malpractice and fraud.

You do not get unlimited time just because you were negligent in investigating. Courts ask whether you should have discovered the problem using reasonable diligence. A doctor's unreasonable delay in reviewing test results might extend the discovery period, but your own procrastination in following up on symptoms will not.

If you suspect you have been harmed and discovery might apply, consult an attorney quickly. The difference between a discovered injury and an undiscovered one is two years of filing time.

Tolling for Minors and Incapacity

The statute of limitations is tolled (suspended) if the plaintiff is a minor or legally incapacitated. The clock does not start running until the minor reaches age 18 or the incapacity ends.

Example: A child is injured at age 5. The statute of limitations for personal injury is 2 years, but it is tolled during the child's minority. The clock starts running when the child turns 18. The child has until age 20 to file suit.

There is a catch: even with tolling, some claims are subject to outer limits known as statutes of repose. The construction-defect repose can bar a claim largely without regard to the plaintiff's age or when the defect is discovered. Statutes of repose and tolling provisions interact in technical ways, so consult an attorney about how they apply to a minor's claim.

When the Clock Starts and Stops

The statute of limitations starts running from the date of injury or breach, not from the date you discover it (except where the discovery rule applies). Ignorance of your harm does not extend the deadline.

The clock stops if you file a lawsuit before the deadline expires. Filing the complaint halts the statute. If you file suit on the last day before expiration, you are within the deadline even if the case does not conclude for years.

The clock also stops if the defendant is outside Pennsylvania and cannot be served. If you are trying to sue someone who left the state, the statute might not run while they are absent. But this is complex, so consult an attorney.

Common Mistakes

Do not wait for the statute to expire to get legal advice. If you have a potential claim, call an attorney within a year or two, not six months before the deadline. Gathering evidence, identifying the right defendant, and locating witnesses takes time.

Do not assume the discovery rule applies. It does not for most claims. For standard personal injury, the clock runs from the date of injury, not from when you realize it might be someone else's fault.

Do not file too late. Filing the complaint one day before the deadline is technically on time, but you will have a sloppy case because you had no time to investigate properly. Give yourself a reasonable margin.

Do not assume a written demand letter, email, or settlement offer extends the deadline. Only filing a lawsuit stops the statute of limitations clock.

Deadlines the Chart Does Not Cover

The chart above covers the common civil claims. Two Pennsylvania deadlines run much longer and are easy to miss.

Instruments under seal: 20 years. An action on a written instrument executed under seal must be commenced within 20 years rather than the usual four (42 Pa.C.S. § 5529(b)). It is uncommon, but it controls for certain formal debt documents.

Construction defects: 12 years from completion. This is a statute of repose rather than a statute of limitations, which means it can bar a claim before the injury ever occurs (42 Pa.C.S. § 5536). If the injury happens more than 10 but within 12 years after completion, the outer cap is 14 years.

What to Do If You Have a Potential Claim

Do not wait. Call Ballow & Lynde at 215-949-0888. We will review the facts, identify the applicable statute, and advise you on timing and next steps. If you are outside the statute but within a gray area or subject to the discovery rule, we will know whether there is still time.

Bring documentation: contracts, correspondence, receipts, photos of damage, medical records if applicable, and the date the injury or breach occurred. We will use that to calculate your deadline and assess your claim.

Related: The Pleadings: How a Lawsuit Starts

Statutory content on this page was last verified against Pennsylvania statutes (20 Pa.C.S.; 72 P.S. Art. XXI): Jul. 2026. If you are reading this significantly after that date, confirm key provisions with current statute text or contact our office.